Echoes of Realization
by bear72724
Summary: Right after the season finale. Luke and Lorelai start their relationship and Rory heads off to Europe. LL with a R? background
1. Willy, Ben, and Jerry,wonderful guys

I know that this topic has been beaten to death then brought back to life and once again beaten down. But I thought I would try to provide my take on how things should happen and give some other people entertainment during the long summer. This is kinda my first Fan Fic so I would appreciate all the reviews I can get, the good, bad, and the ugly. Thanks, and hopefully…Enjoy! Oh and I don't own anything, ya da ya da ya da….

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"I hate you for ruining this for me!" Those words echoed through Lorelai's ears as she walked down the porch steps to stand above her daughter. The daughter who just moments before she had seen coming out of her bedroom with her married ex-boyfriend in a… well less than innocent state. Lorelai was having a hard time believing that her baby had finally taken that step. But oddly enough, Lorelai realized, that was not what was bothering her the most. Sure, she was upset that Rory had finally taken that "last step into womanhood," but not as upset as she was about whom Rory chose to do "it" with. How could her level-headed daughter have sex with a married man?

Lorelai looked down again at her daughter who was sobbing. Tears came to her eyes. She said softly, "I have to go, um, I have to think about things. Why don't you go inside and um well just go inside." For the first time in Lorelai's life she was having trouble speaking. Things had definitely changed in the Gilmore house.

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"You're the other woman." Those words kept running through Rory's head. This night had quickly gone from wonderful to terrible in the blink of an eye. One moment she was feeling happy and elated then realization hit and now she was miserable and crying in the grass. She had slept with Dean, and worse than that she had slept with a married Dean. The realization of that fact hit Rory again, causing her to cry even harder. She was running the night's events in her head and she had reached when her mother had said those horrible things to her. She was so angry at her mom for saying those things to her. She was even angrier because she partly knew it was true. She didn't want her first time to be like this but it was over now and there was no going back. Tears were now streaming down her face and she heard her mother whisper the words she hated to here. "I have to go." Rory desperately wanted to call out to her and tell her not to leave, that she needed her. But a mixture of pride and anger kept her from uttering those words. Rory felt lost and there was nothing she could do about. She had made a mistake, probably the biggest one that she had ever made. Her head had failed her and now she was stuck knowing she had slept with a married man and the specialness of her first time was now gone, worn away to show the dull reality of the truth. She had slept with a married man.

Rory heard her mother's footsteps echo on the driveway and the Jeep's motor start through the ironically peaceful night. She looked up in time to see the headlights flash across the front lawn then head in the direction of the Inn. Rory, slowly got up, muscles sore, and climbed the porch steps and entered the house. She walked the familiar steps to her room, but when she arrived at her door she saw the rumpled bed and again the tears started flowing. She turned her back on the room where her world had changed so quickly and headed to the freezer and got out some Ben and Jerry's. She grabbed a spoon and plodded to the couch. She pushed in a video and knew things had undoubtedly changed. For the first time in her life she wanted her mom more than anything in the world and she wasn't there. The video started and Rory dug her spoon into the ice cream and tried to lose herself in the magic of Willy Wonka and Ben and Jerry's.

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Please review and give me some suggestions on where I should take this story, I have some ideas myself but I could use some help….Thanks! Sorry is was short but they will probably get longer as I go on with the story.


	2. Just be there

I haven't decided who Rory is going to be with in this story. I was never a Dean fan and long ago gave up on Jess so I'm thinking it's time to give Rory a new love interest. What do you think? Hmm…that requires some thought.

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Lorelai wiped at her eyes. She was having a hard time accepting that she had actually left her daughter when something that major had happened. But she knew that if she stayed she would say more things that she didn't necessarily mean or that would make Rory even more angry with her. Lorelai went through the night's events, opening the inn to what in some cases could be considered public, Jason becoming crazy stalker man, Luke suddenly kissing her (and what a kiss it was) and Rory. She decided not to think about the latter in the list. Her mind jumped back to Luke. A small smile appeared on her mouth as she thought of the kiss. She was surprised by it but that is not to say she didn't enjoy it. 'If I knew Luke could kiss like that I probably would have started this a while ago,' Lorelai thought. A small voice by the name of conscience began ringing through Lorelai's head. "How can you be even thinking of happiness when you just left your daughter crying on the steps of your house?"

Lorelai tried to ignore that tiny voice but it grew louder and louder and she was suddenly crying again. She realized that she was close to the Inn and tried to compose herself as much as possible just in case she would encounter someone. She wiped at the black mascara streaks underneath her eyes. "Note to self: Waterproof, waterproof, waterproof," she thought. Once she was half-way decent she opened the Jeep door and step out. The moment she stepped one foot on the ground she heard a voice she heard a voice that made her cringe.

"Hey, Lorelai. What took you so long?

"Jason."

"Yeah, I still want to talk to you about our relationship." He was leaning against a tree and pulled himself up and walked up to her.

"What relationship, Jason? We don't have one."

"Oh, don't say that."

"What, the truth. I can't take this now, so listen good. We aren't in a relationship. It's over. I've moved on and so should you."

"What do you mean you've moved on?"

"Ugh, what it sounds like. I've found someone else. Goodbye." She walked past him and tried to go inside but he stopped her with another question.

"What is he like?"

" What is he like, well, he wouldn't talk on a cell phone through our whole date, in fact he detests the idea of them. And oh yeah, he wouldn't sue my Dad. Goodbye, Jason."

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Lorelai walked inside the inn and sat down on one of the couches in the lobby. "This is just too much to happen on one night," she said softly. The tears that had been minimal broke into a huge gush of them.

"Lorelai, what's the matter?"

Luke who had just returned Kirk to his room was coming down the stairs when he saw her. She had her hand over her face and Luke immediately knew something was wrong. He rushed down the remaining steps and sat next to Lorelai on the couch. He pulled her to him and she laid her head on his chest and she seemed to calm down.

"What's wrong? What happened? Is Rory hurt? What happened, Lorelai?"

"She said she hates me." Lorelai tried to state in between sobs.

"What, why would she say that. She didn't mean it, I know that."

"I can't say here. I don't know if I should tell you, she might get angry if she finds out that you know." 'What the hell,' Lorelai's inner voice was saying. 'You have to tell someone. You know you can trust Luke.'

"Fine," Luke was saying while Lorelai was contemplating what would happen if she told him. "You don't have to explain. I just…I don't like seeing you this way."

Lorelai knew then and there that she could tell him. She wiped at her eyes, stood up and grabbed his hand and led him upstairs. She walked to what she knew was his and waited. He got the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. She walked in the room and sat on the bed. He looked at her strangely.

"I couldn't talk down there."

"Oh, okay."

"She slept with Dean." Lorelai blurted out.

"What! Oh, that good-for-nothing little…I knew he was trouble. I tried to tell you but I didn't think he would…ughh…"

"Ok, not helping here."

Luke looked at Lorelai, tears were threatening to over flow in her eyes. He returned to his seat beside her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and she tried to continue the story.

"I went home and went upstairs to get band-aids and a camera and I was rambling about how she was missing everything and I had so much to tell her. And I went downstairs and she was standing in the kitchen and then he came out. I knew something was wrong. When he left I went to her door and…" Lorelai got choked up, tears catching in her throat. "The bed was …and I knew…she kept going on about how she was sorry for not telling me before and how they were safe and how wasn't I happy that she had her first time with someone sweet and kind…and then I lost it. I told her that I wasn't happy. She was the other woman…and then she through past relationships back at me…and I never…She hates me, Luke. She said she hated me." The tears finally won and Lorelai curled even tighter into Luke and his grip tighten around her shoulders.

Luke waited for her to come to a stopping point. He made soft shushing noises. He had always been uncomfortable with crying women, but there was something about when Lorelai cried that made him want to cry too. She was too happy a person, and to see her like this killed him. He wanted to make everything but this situation was totally new to him and he was a loss at what to do. So he just sat there, holding her tight and rubbing her back. He didn't know that he was doing everything right. That was all Lorelai needed.

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Ok, so that was my second chapter. Still in the dramatic phase. I hope to include more comedy but it's still to early to have everything be back to normal. Next chapter will most likely be Rory again. So, please review.


	3. Wallowing in Glass Elevators

Thank you to my reviewers. Your suggestions did make me think about the characters but I still stand by my decision about Lorelai going back to the inn. This chapter will mainly focus on Lorelai and Rory again. I hope you enjoy!

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As Lorelai's sniffles finally subsided Luke gave Lorelai's arm one last rub and pulled back so he could see her face. Her eyes were red and still slightly watery but she still looked beautiful. He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss which she eagerly responded to. She was thankful for someone like Luke. Things slowly started to get more heated when suddenly Lorelai pulled back.

"I have to go, um, I have to get back to Rory." Lorelai was rambling on in an excited way. She gathered her purse and unconsciously smoothed her hair and flicked a few strands behind her ear. Luke didn't know if he should just sit there and act stunned at this or laugh. Clearly, Lorelai had returned and was now worried about her daughter. Her mind was racing, with things she was going to ask Rory when she got home. Why, How had she not known that Rory was this close to Dean, Why. Lorelai was half out the door when Luke stopped her with the few words that, even though Lorelai was back in mother mode, she needed to hear.

"She doesn't hate you. You know that right?"

Lorelai turned back and looked at him. Her eyes softened and nodded gently.

"Thanks," she said softly. Then, she turned around and shut the door.

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Charlie was flying in the glass elevator when the door to the Gilmore House finally opened. Rory had wondered where her mother had gone but she was still angry. Her tears had stopped and she was now just in a state of shock. Lorelai walked in the room and laid her purse by the message machine. She looked at her daughter, who was curled in a ball on the couch with a pint of empty Ben and Jerry's on the table.

"Wallowing?" Lorelai asked, recalling the first time Rory had to wallow and who had caused her to. The same person who was causing her to wallow now.

There was no response to Lorelai's question. Just silence when Rory glanced at her mother then back at the screen which was rolling credits. "Crap," Rory thought, "Why didn't I pick a longer movie."

"Ok, It's probably better that you don't talk. I have some things to say. I think I can keep it civil but try to hear me out. Ok, I'm not exactly sorry for the things I said." Lorelai was interrupted by a disgusted sigh from Rory. "Yeah, it's true. Mommy was mean, but mommy was shocked that her daughter had …well you know what you did. I just can't bring myself to think of your time being with a married man. That will forever be simultaneous with losing your virginity. I don't think I would have minded as much if it was someone else. And you were right, you aren't a kid anymore. But you are still my kid, so I'm still here for you. I just want to know something. While you were defending yourself earlier you kept saying that Dean loved you, but you never said you loved Dean. Do you love him, Rory, or was he just somebody safe and regular? I'm here for ya if you want to talk."

Lorelai waited for Rory to say something but she didn't make a move to say anything so she stood up and looked at her daughter.

"Well then, I've got to get to sleep. When you are ready to talk to me, I have news."

Lorelai walked up the stairs about halfway before she turned back and looked at her daughter. "Hey, I love you. You know that right?" Rory looked up and nodded almost imperceptibly, but Lorelai saw it. She smiled softly and continued upstairs. Hopefully that was a sign that things would be okay. God, she hoped so.

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Sorry, it was short. But this was an early morning chapter while not feeling very well. But I wanted to continue writing. Hopefully, everyone enjoys it. Please review. To say its bad, to say it good, or to say that your feet smell. It really doesn't matter, just review! Please!


	4. The day is done

Sorry it has been so long since I wrote but I am in summer school so I don't have to take gym during the school year so I haven't had all the chances in the world to update. This is the last chapter for the actual night of the season finale so I can finally have Rory and Lorelai stop boo-hooing. Hope you enjoy!

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Rory sat on the couch contemplating her mother's words. "Do you love him, Rory, or was he just safe?" That question stung because it brought to light to something she had pushed to the very back of her mind. When she and Dean had started kissing and she realized that they were headed somewhere those questions had run rampant in her head. Did she love him? Did he love her?

She knew the answer to that question, but she didn't know if she loved him. Things were happening so fast and it had been so long since someone had made her feel special and wanted. She had already felt as if she was the last person in the world with out someone else. Tanna had called that to her attention quite well when she showed her the picture board and she saw all the couples. Even Paris had a guy, an old guy but still a guy. When Dean started kissing her it reminded her of what it used to be like with him. Everything had just dropped away, the fact that he was married fell the fastest.

The thing that was killing her was that she knew how she wanted her first time to be. She had imagined it for a long time. It was supposed to romantic: with candles, and mood music, and most definitely her mother would not be there directly afterwards. Now after her first time had come and now gone and she was looking back on it, the tiny voice in her head was screaming at her that this was not how it was supposed to be. Suddenly she knew the answer to the question but she didn't want to think about it. If she admitted to herself she knew she would start crying again. That is when Rory realized that she was already crying.

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The moon made Lorelai's room have a dark-blue cast. Rory pushed her mom's door open; the hinges creaked, causing Lorelai to stir. Lorelai turned on her side and slowly opened her eyes. "Rory?" her voice was rough with sleep. "Mommy." Rory's voice cracked as she made her way to Lorelai's side. Lorelai pulled her into a hug. Rory rested her head on her shoulder and cried. "Mom, I just…I don't know how…I don't…Oh, Mom. I'm sorry." She started to explain but the words just wouldn't come out.

Lorelai understood though. Her daughter was feeling deep regret and shock. "I know, honey. I know." What a day it had been, Lorelai thought. Lorelai hoped that tomorrow would prove to be a better day. She hated to see her daughter go through this. As her daughter cried Lorelai looked at her pink, furry clock as the clock ticked slowly to 12:01.

That same clock started to purr at 6 a.m. the same morning. Lorelai groaned and tapped the top to make the offending noise stop. She pulled herself out of bed, so she could head to the inn. Her eyes traveled to Rory who had fallen asleep next to her mother after crying. She was out cold. Lorelai knew she would be out for a while so she found a post-it and wrote the message that she had written the day before and again stuck it on her forehead. Hopefully, her daughter would be up for lunch at Luke's. The thought of Luke again brought a smile to Lorelai's face and she emitted a soft, girlish giggle. She grabbed her towel and headed to the shower, for once not thinking of the evils of being up early. The day had just begun and so far to her it seemed pretty good.

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Hey, look, a cliffhanger of sorts. I want to sort out how I want to go about the Rory situation before I got to far into this chapter so I left it on a happy note for once. You know the drill: review, review, review!


	5. For the Love of Coffee

Ok, here we go. Another chapter, but finally it is out of the crying/weeping stage. I promise I will try to keep the tears to a minimum. Even I, as the author (wow, I do believe that is the first time I have ever called myself that.) can only take so much. And to Allison: Thanks for alerting me to the word problems. That happens to me a lot when I am writing. I usually catch it though. Unfortunately, I am new to this whole fan fic thing and don't know how to go about correcting it. If someone could tell me that would be great. Well, enough of the author's note…on to the story.

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Lorelai walked to the Inn's kitchen trying to make very little noise and to be very careful not to disturb anything. The last thing she wanted was to wake up her "guests", especially Taylor, at 6:40 in the morning. Sookie should be arriving soon to prepare the breakfast part of Bed & Breakfast. She pushed in the swinging door to the kitchen.

That's definitely not Sookie, she thought. Her eyes caught on the image of a man in a baseball cap, flannel, and just-tight-enough jeans. Her mind jumped to the fact that she had just check-out Luke's butt, but then smiled as she remember the fact that she was allowed to do that now that they were "official." She got an idea and as he was too busy making coffee to notice her yet, she decided to act on it.

She kicked the door with her heel to cause a noise to catch his attention. She began to walk forward with rummaging through her purse with her head down. "Sookie, you'll never guess what happened last night. I kissed this absolutely gorgeous man. And what a kiss it was. Actually, kisses to be more specific." She looked up and tried to appear surprised but her sly smile slipped in. "Oh, you aren't Sookie."

"No, I'm not." he stated matter-of-factly. He continued the job of coffee-making by pressing the "Start" button and it began to brew. He looked up and gave her a sexy half-smile that made her stomach flip. "Gorgeous, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. But you don't know him. His name was Roberto. Spanish, dark hair, dark eyes, wonderful accent. Very Sexy." She stated this in the flippant style that was so Lorelai.

"Oh, really?"

"Oh, yeah." She gave him a big grin, and Luke could tell that she was enjoying this way too much. She walked forward to stand in front of him.

"Should I be worried?" he asked, playing along.

"Oh, very."

Those were her last words before he pulled her into a passionate kiss. Lorelai gladly reciprocated the kiss until the need for sufficient breath made them part. "Wow, I really shouldn't have bothered with Roberto. So, um what exactly are you doing in Sookie's kitchen?"

"Thought, it was pretty much obvious." He pulled a mug from the rack above the coffee maker and poured her a cup of coffee. She took the cup eagerly and sipped from it. She sighed, set down the cup, and pulled Luke to her. She gave him a generous kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"The coffee. For some reason it seems even more wonderful today." They chatted casually for a few moments until Luke suddenly became serious.

"How are you, Lorelai? How's Rory?"

Lorelai looked down at her mug. "I'm better, but I'm still kinda in shock. But you were right she doesn't hate me. Rory talked to me, it's going to take her a while to get over it. I know this is going to sound weird because I'm not usually one for the "running away from your problems" approach to life or my mother. But my mom offered to take Rory with her to Europe for a couple of weeks the other day and I think it might be good for her. Things are going to get pretty ugly around here if any of this gets out, and let's face it, it will. Somehow, someway. And as much as I want her to be here with me, I think it might help. What do you think?"

Luke, somewhat taken aback that Lorelai had asked his opinion on something concerning the welfare of her daughter, yet oddly happy that she was being so open, responded, " I think that sounds good. Being in this town when something big happens in your life is bad enough. But when that something happens to be big and bad, it's even worse. Do you think she'll go for it?"

"I don't know. She might. I'll talk to her about it at lunch. We might be meeting at the diner if she feels up to it. But as for now, you should go before Sookie get here and sees another cook in her kitchen and touching her beloved 'culinary devices'."

"Yeah, I need to get to the diner anyway. Since Caesar opened and half the town was here anyway, including me, I didn't need to rush." He checked his watch. "But I should be going anyway." He gave Lorelai a short kiss. "This place is really amazing, Lor, and you did wonderful last night, too. You don't have to worry about anything. Although, I would probably drop the running into doors bit. It's probably not very good for your health."

Lorelai smiled, happy with the complement she had just received that filled her with such an odd fuzzy feeling. Since when was Luke able to say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time? Just as she was thinking this, Sookie bustled in with another bag of groceries, stopped dead in her tracks, and asked, "Who touched my coffee machine?"

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Alright, I didn't set out to only write about Luke and Lorelai but I just kept writing and by the time I came to this place my fingers were hurting, because I write it out then type it, so I thought to myself that this was a good stopping place for the night. And there you go, another chapter. Full of Luke and Lorelai goodness. Hoped you liked it. Oh yeah, review please!


	6. What Else?

Ok, alright. Here we go. I'm trying to write as fast as possible because I know from my own personal experience that if an author takes to long to update I get upset and start believing that they will never write again. And I don't want that to happen. Also, if I take to long writing then I will lose interest and stop writing and I don't want to do that because I actually like this story. I don't know why I am saying this, maybe I have gone crazy from the many, many bleacher runs I was forced to do today at gym. Which of course resulted in me having an asthma attack…hmm….lack of oxygen to brain…maybe… **Oh and you might want to read the couple of the last lines in the chapter before because the story continues straight away.**

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Lorelai smiled at Sookie, took a sip of her coffee, put the mug down, walked to the door then turned around with that "I did something slutty" smile and simply said, "Oh, just Luke." Sookie stood looking at where Lorelai had just stood, seeming very confused. She had recognized that smile for what it was. A still confused Sookie scurried out the door after Lorelai.

"What did you do, Lorelai?" Sookie said after finding Lorelai at the check-in counter going over some of the comment cards.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Lorelai said trying to sound innocent.

"Oh, don't give me that. I know that smile, Lorelai. What did you do?"

Lorelai smiled sheepishly and blushed. "I kissed Luke."

"You kissed…" Before she could finish she was cut off by Lorelai.

"Shhh…be quiet!"

"But…why?"

"Because he did it first." Lorelai walked out from behind the counter with post-its in hand looking for things that still need work. Sookie followed her excitedly.

"So…what does this mean? Are you going out?"

"Don't you have breakfast to cook?"

"Well, yes…but…"

Lorelai turned around and gave her a look. "Later." She said. Sookie giggled and started saying in a sing-song voice, "Luke and Lorelai. They are finally together… Woo, woo, woo." Lorelai shot her a look that clearly stated for Sookie to be quiet.

"Fine!" Sookie said throwing up her hands in defeat, but continued into the kitchen humming the "Luke and Lorelai" song.

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Lorelai continued working for a while, making sure breakfast went over smoothly and fielding questions from Taylor, until she noticed the time. It was almost time for her lunch break. She moved over to the phone deciding to call Rory to see if she was up to their lunch date at Luke's. When she finished dialing the number she was surprised to find the line busy. Lorelai shrugged it off, thinking that Rory must be talking to Lane or another friend. Little did she know that it actually was…

"Dean."

"I told Lindsay."

"What! Why?" She knew this might happen but she hadn't wanted to think of it.

"Because I don't love her. I love you."

"Oh, god. Dean…I don't…" Rory tried to get the words out but couldn't.

"You don't what? Rory…you can't do this to me."

"I'm sorry, Dean. Last night was a mistake. I realize that now, but I can't, Dean. I can't be with you. I don't love you."

"How can you do this to me again? Who is it this time, Rory? Is it Jess? Or someone new? I broke up my marriage for you. I thought you felt the same way. I thought you loved me."

"Dean, stop." Rory was getting desperate. "I thought I loved you too. But I was just confused. I wasn't thinking clearly. I never meant for this to happen but my life has been so weird lately."

"You didn't mean for what to happen, Rory? For you to break up my marriage?"

"You can't blame all this on me, Dean. It takes two to do what we did. This is as much your fault as it is mine. Maybe more since you were the married one."

"I wouldn't have started this if I didn't think that you felt the same way. I can't believe you, Rory."

"I can't … I just….ughh..." Rory hung up the phone. She tried to explain to him but it just got to the point that she was so angry words would no longer come out of her mouth. How could blame all of this on her? He was the one that was married. Just then the phone rang again. "What now?" She said roughly, thinking that it was Dean calling back.

"Jeez, sorry. I just wanted to see if you were up to Luke's." Lorelai said startled. "What's the matter?"

Rory didn't know if she should tell her mother but she didn't like the idea of lying to her. "Oh, um, Dean called and I told him that I didn't love him and he blamed me for leading him on and just…" Rory again had to stop speaking because the words were stopped by anger.

"I'm sorry, Hun. So no Luke's?" Lorelai asked already sounding disappointed at what she thought the answer would be.

"No, I think it would be good to get out."

"Really?" Lorelai brightened at this.

"Yeah, meet you in thirty?"

"Yeah. We've got a lot to talk about, so come prepared."

"Ok, see ya there."

"K, bye."

Rory hung up the phone wondering at what they could possibly have to talk about. What else could have happened?

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Ok, that is another chapter. Hope you liked it. I'll update soon!


	7. Seriously Talking

There isn't really a need for an author's note this time. Because I'm not going to toy with your intelligence by telling you that this is another chapter. Because come on you know that. Well. Umm…enjoy!

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Rory walked in the diner looking around trying to find her mom. She didn't see her at any of the tables, but found her sitting her at the counter talking to Luke. Miraculously, they were doing just that. Talking. Not fighting, bantering, making threats, or even the hidden flirting that was so common. They were actually talking. She considered not going up there and disturbing this uncommon moment of peace but before she could back out the door Luke looked up and saw her. In one short moment he returned into the usually gruff Luke. This, of course, caused Lorelai to take notice and she swung around on the stool and said, "Oh, hey!" Rory noticed the slight blush on her mom's cheeks and her nervous hair twirl.

"Hey." she replied, giving her mom an odd look. Lorelai picked a table and they took their seats. Before they could even start what would in normal circles be considered a conversation, Luke showed up with a coffee pot in hand, dumbly asking, and "Coffee?"

"Oh, yeah. Both of us please." Lorelai looked over at Rory who had a puzzled look on her face. She then looked back to Luke who had just finished filling up their mugs. "Thanks." she said quietly.

"No problem. Be back in a second." Luke smiled and ambled off. Lorelai's eyes followed Luke around the diner until Rory's voice brought her back to the present.

"Ok. What the hell happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the talking and the coffee without fighting, and the smiling. The smiling! Luke doesn't smile and he smiled!" Rory said excitedly, obviously upset at not knowing what was going on.

"Oh, that." Lorelai said simply.

"Oh, that," Rory repeated. "Yes that! What happened?"

"Um…" Lorelai looked around nervously. She finally decided that there were too many people around, grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her outside like the day before.

"So…" Rory said expectantly.

"You know how I said that I thought that me and Luke might be going out?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, well we definitely are."

Rory noticed her mother's tone when she said that. She asked in a hushed voice, "Did you sleep with him?"

"What! No! He kissed me."

"Seriously?" Rory said loudly.

"Shh…" Lorelai looked around to see if she had attracted any attention.

"He kissed you?" Rory said, obviously wanting more details.

"Yeah, he kissed me and then I kissed him and then we kissed each other. And then there was a naked man…"

"What, wait a second. Naked man?" Rory said obviously confused.

"Kirk. He has night terrors."

"When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?" Rory asked.

"It happened last night. I was going to tell you but…" Lorelai ended.

"Oh, yeah, right." Rory said knowing full well why her mother didn't tell her. "Sorry."

"It's ok, Hun." Rory looked at her mother and she could tell that she meant it.

"So this means that you and Luke are finally going out."

"Yup. Wait, what do you mean finally?"

"Oh, come on. You and Luke have been flirting for years. It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Ugh, we have not."

"Have too"

"Have not!" Lorelai said childishly.

"Have too" Rory said holding out the o's just to annoy Lorelai further.

Suddenly Luke popped his head out of the diner door. "Are you guys going to eat or just stand outside talking all day?"

"Oh, eat definitely. Come on, Rory." Lorelai pulled Rory inside. As Lorelai walked past Luke she gave him a smile and he knew then what and who they had been talking about.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory ordered the usual and chatted about the inn until the food came, which came quite speedily. "Wow," Rory said, "We sure do get good service now."

"Just imagine what will happen when I sleep with him." Lorelai said in her usual manner.

"Mom! Ok, you have officially crossed the line of what is to be said to your own offspring!"

"Well, it's not like you don't know what is going on now."

"Well…yes…but, you're my mother." Rory was taken aback by her mom actually mentioning what had happened in an almost humorous manner. How had her mother been able to get over it so quickly? She hadn't even been able to.

"Speaking of which, how are you?" Lorelai asked genuinely concerned. "You know after the call and everything."

"Fine, I guess. But it's hard. Most of the time I don't know if I should cry or scream."

"Yeah, well I wanted to talk to you about that. If this gets out and sadly I think you know it will." Rory's eyes lowered, she knew her mom was right. Lorelai continued, "It's going to be pretty bad. Hopefully if he doesn't do anything stupid then we can hope that nobody will find out but this town"

"He told her." Rory cut in.

"He told her?" Lorelai repeated. "Crap."

"Yup."

"Well…" Lorelai took her time thinking about how she wanted to word what she was going to say. "I have been thinking about this because well, I know what it is like for everyone to know your business. But I think that maybe you should take Grandma up on her offer." Rory's mouth fell open. She couldn't believe what her mother was suggesting. "I know! I can't believe that I'm suggesting it either." Lorelai said as if reading Rory's mind. "But," Lorelai continued. "I think it would be good for you to get away from all of this and just take some time off. And frankly I don't want you to be here when this stuff comes out. It just makes things worse."

Rory could tell that her mother truly meant what she was saying. Rory didn't want to run away from her problems but she didn't want to face them either. She thought about this for a while finally realizing how hard it must be for her mom to even suggest that she might be better off with her grandmother than with her. She knew that her mom was right, though. She needed time to process what had happened. Plus, it was a free trip to Europe. Rory looked up to her mom and nodded. "I'll call her and ask."

"Good." Lorelai sighed with relief. She hadn't wanted Rory to think that she was trying to pawn her off to someone else but she knew Rory had understood. "Hey," Lorelai said. "At least you get a free trip to Europe." Rory and Lorelai looked at each other and just laughed as Luke came up to refill their coffee.

TBC

* * *

I have almost finally decided that this story is going to be mainly Luke and Lorelai with only a background of Rory. But for those who enjoy the Rory part of the story I think I am going to break this into two stories. Lorelai's and Rory's. Of course you will still get some of what is happening to Rory through the phone calls. Rory will be touring Europe with her grandma, not a very fun tour guide, but she might find someone more suited to the job. Someone new? Someone from the past? **If you think this is a good idea, please review and say so and I'll start to work on it. I might keep it only one story if I don't get enough reviews. Love you all! **


	8. Well, How was it?

I've noticed that I haven't given a disclaimer and I don't want to get in trouble or anything. But seriously who would think that I owned Gilmore Girls or anything. Hmm… would be fun…. But officially I don't own any of these characters.

* * *

After their lunch, Lorelai went back to the inn and Rory headed to Lane's house. She knocked on the screen door just out of politeness before entering and saying to the guys sitting in front of the TV playing video games. "Hey, guys. Where's Lane?"

"Other room" Zach grunted back his eyes never leaving the screen.

"Thanks." Rory made her way to Lane's room. She knocked on the door and opened the door knowing that Lane hadn't heard it over the blare of the music. She smiled because for once all of Lane's band memorabilia was on full display. Lane was sitting on her bed pencil and notebook in hand bobbing her head to the music. "Hey!" Rory called loudly trying to be heard over the music. Lane's head snapped up, she threw the notebook to the side and hopped up the greet Rory.

"Hey! I didn't hear you!" Lane made her way to the stereo to turn the volume down so they would be able to talk. Lane cocked her head at Rory. "What's up?" She hadn't expected Rory to come over but judging on the look on Rory's face something was definitely up.

Rory turned around and shut the door to Lane's room, before she turned around she blurted out the answer. "I slept with Dean." When there was no reply Rory turned around and saw her friend standing frozen with a look of astonishment on her face. "Say something!" Rory said as she plopped down on Lane's bed. Lane just stood there trying to process what her best friend had just said.

"Uh…ugh…" Lane was speechless. She sat on the bed next to Rory.

"I know! I can't believe it either and believe me I was there! I don't know why but he was there and he said that it wasn't working with Lindsay and then he started kissing me and then the next thing I know…" She looked over at Lane who still had the same expression and continued. "Then Mom came home." That got Lane's face to change from a "wow" to the classic "oh-crap-you're-in-trouble" look. "I know she said a lot of stuff that really made me angry and then she left."

Lane raised her eyebrows at the truly un-Lorelai behavior. "But she came back and we talked. She helped me realize that I don't love Dean. I slept with a man I didn't love!" Rory covered her face with her hands and fell backwards on the bed. Lane didn't know what to say. Usually she could whip out some helpful piece of advice but nothing came to mind. But before Lane could saw anything at all Rory sat up and started talking again.

"And Dean called me this morning and told me that he told Lindsay. And then I told him that ya know that I didn't love him like that and then we fought and I am going to Europe." Rory spit out the rest of the story in one breath. Then she remembered one more thing that happened in the busy day. "Oh, and mom's going out with Luke." Lane's mouth dropped open again. Rory looked at her expectantly. "Well? Anything? Do have anything to say?"

Lane knew that Rory didn't need a lecture and she didn't want to give her one, so she settled on the question that was purely girlish and only a best friend would ask. "Well, how was it?" Rory looked at her with surprise and suddenly burst out in laughter.

"Thanks." Rory said. And Rory settled in to tell the story in a very different way.

* * *

Lorelai walked in her house, kicked off her shoes. She threw her keys on the table and simply yelled, "Rory." Rory came out from her room and Lorelai stumbled toward her. Over-dramatically she exclaimed, "My brain! The comments cards! They were never ending! The third stair creaks when stepped on from an 80 degree angle. The grass should be cut a quarter-inch shorter! Never Ending! Need Coffee!"

"Don't complain to me. You didn't have to dodge questions from grandma all afternoon. She kept trying to find out why exactly I was taking up her offer. And then finally after I got her off that subject, which I didn't think she would appreciate knowing all the details of, I had to listen for two hours about all the different hotels we would be going to! Two hours of which ones have the best bed linens and china! Two hours, Mom!

Lorelai looked at Rory then grabbed her keys and walked tiredly out of the kitchen. Rory followed her, puzzled. "What? Where are you going?"

Lorelai stuffed her feet back into her shoes and simply said, "Luke's. Come on."

TBC

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Woohoo! Two chapters in one night! Still waiting for the reviews! Please press the lonely button that follows this sad, sad plead!


	9. Movie Nights and Shopping Bags

Ok, I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while but I had, still kinda have, really bad writer's block. But I wrote this chapter. It is mainly just a filler chapter but it is still a chapter. Now I have had some problems with the time line of the story. Since on the show they never out and out say what day everything took place on I just kinda went with it. I tried to sort everything out but I ended up just giving myself and the person I tried to explain it too, a headache. So just go with it, sorry if it isn't all totally correct.

* * *

Lorelai and Rory's life continued almost normally for the next few days. Things seemed to be back to normal. Lorelai had been able to deal with what had happened with Rory amazingly well. She realized that Rory could have done something much worse and accepted the fact that her daughter, although she seemed to be, was not perfect. Rory even seemed better buy at times Lorelai would look over at her daughter and see a sad, contemplative look. She knew that at these times her daughter was recalling the days past and "that night." During one of their movie nights, Lorelai once again saw that expression and asked, "What ya thinking?" in a nonchalant manner.

"Oh, nothing." Rory responded. She looked up at her mom with an unconvincing "I'm fine" smile.

"Umm hmm... Sure." Lorelai said knowingly.

Rory knew her mother didn't believe her in the least so just decided to tell her what she was thinking but had a hard time trying to verbalize it. "It's just…I don't know." She tried to begin again. "I can't help but think of it. Ya know? I don't love him but…he's Dean. And I don't like thinking that he hates me and that I'm never going to talk to him again."

"I know, Sweetie. I know this doesn't sound true but things will get better…eventually. I don't know when but they will. And as for talking to Dean, who's to say that you won't? But judging by what resulted from the last time you guys started talking again, I think it will be a long time before you do. You both have a lot of stuff to figure out. And you need time. Why do you think I am paying for you to go to Europe? And I don't want you sitting on your butt the whole time thinking. You should be out having fun and going to discos."

"Mom, you aren't paying at all." Rory reminded her mother.

"Hey, don't trifle me with silly minor details." Lorelai said, brushing that fact off. "Speaking of Europe, has Grandma told you the final take-off date yet?

"Yeah, she called today. We are leaving Monday at 5."

"Doesn't give you much time."

"No, just two days. But it's fine. I'll deal."

"Do you wanna go shopping tomorrow for new clothes for the trip?"

"Are you sure you have time? Don't you have to work?"

"No, we all agreed that we shouldn't be there everyday before it opens. And everything is right on schedule so…shopping?"

"Sure."

"Good, I wanna buy something for my date with Luke on Sunday."

"Oooh, so he's new clothes worthy." Rory said with a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Definitely. Besides the downside to dating someone you see practically everyday is that he has seen practically everything I own. I want our first date to be special. You know different from every other day. And I think that new clothes and looking stunning should help." Lorelai said with a smile.

"So shopping it is. Mom, do you realize that you are breaking one of your very own rules." Rory said with a glance at the TV.

"Huh?" Lorelai said confusedly.

"We are talking through a movie."

"Oh my god! Rory how could this happen? I've turned into one of those people!"

"What people?" Rory said knowing her mother would tell her even if she didn't ask.

"The people that are too self- absorbed to wait until after the movie to talk. They just feel the need to talk and start talking during what inevitably turns out to be one of the best scenes of the movie. And not only do they miss the best joke or the most romantic line ever but they bring everyone around them down too!"

"Mom! Mom, stop!" Rory said interrupting her mom's rant. "I don't think anyone has ever told you this but there is a magic button, that we, the sane people, call "Rewind." Shocking, but true! When pressed it actually, brace yourself, takes the movie back to the parts that you missed in a matter of only seconds." Rory told her mother in the voice you use with crazy people that might jump at any moment.

"Don't patronize me! I am having a crisis her." As Lorelai once again started her rant, Rory sighed and got comfortable. She knew that this rant wouldn't be done for quite a while.

* * *

The next morning, after a stop at Luke's for coffee to go, the girls headed off to do their shopping. Once they got to the mall, Lorelai turned to Rory and asked, "Ok, what are we looking for?"

"Not much." Rory said as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a list. "Just some shorts, maybe a few new shirts, a swimsuit. I seemed to have lost mine after spring break." Rory gave her mother a look that said she knew exactly where her suit went.

"What?" Lorelai asked innocently. "Fine, ok I admit it but I as your mother couldn't possibly let you go on another trip with a swimsuit that makes you look like you are in 6th grade!"

"Umm hmm…anyway, I also need some sandals."

"That should be easy." Lorelai said, her eyes already scanning the many racks of clothing. She headed to a rack and flipped through the shirts all the while muttering, "Hmm, that cute" and "Oh, god, no." and the occasional "Who would wear that?"

Two hours later they left with many bags in hand from many various stores. Rory got all the items on her list, plus many more her mom insisted she have. She had even managed to come away with a nice one-piece bathing suit despite her mother's attempts to the otherwise. Her mom seemed to think that you simply couldn't go to Europe without a red bikini. "It simply isn't done." Her mom had said in her best Emily voice.

Lorelai, on the other hand, had a lot less than expected. When they had turned their attention to find something for Lorelai to wear on "the big date" she had been unable to choose something. When she tried something on her mind would instantly flood with the annoying questions like "Is this too casual?" or "I think this might be to fancy." and the ever present "Does this make my butt look big?"

Rory had never seen her mother like this. She would suggest something and her mom would try on and of course it looked fabulous but her mom didn't think so. Finally Lorelai gave up and just decided to find something at home, much to Rory's astonishment. Rory thought that the last outfit she tried on would be perfect but her mother didn't agree. Something just made her extremely indecisive.

So Lorelai ended up not buying anything, well except for a new clock and something for Rory's trip. The clock was shaped like a chicken and every hour a voice would tell a "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Even Rory thought that it would be annoying but there was no swaying Lorelai once she decided that she wanted something.

TBC

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Hope you liked it. It was mostly just random stuff but it helped get me back on track with the story. I should have the next chapter by Saturday. I still want those reviews! So you know what to do.


	10. The PreDate Situation

Not much of an author's note this time. Just if you are careful you can see that I like to recall stuff from previous seasons and put it in the story. Especially today because I watched my Gilmore Girls DVD so have fun trying to remember and recognize similarities. The lines aren't exactly the same but I'm sure just enough for people to remember. But enough, on to the story.

* * *

Lorelai stared at the clothes scattered around her. She was frantic. She was having a clothes crisis. Luke would be at the house in about a half an hour for their date. And she was in a robe with horrible hair and no make-up. She picked up a shirt, looked at it, made a face, and then threw it behind her to an ever-growing pile. She fell backwards on her bed while yelling out, "Rory! Rory, come here! I am majorly in need of some help!"

A few moments passed before Rory popped her head in asking, "What's the matter?"

"I can't do it."

"What?"

"This. I can't. Everything is wrong. My hair has decided to wage war against me and my clothes are just…ugh. I have nothing. All my skirts are either too short, making me look slutty, or too long, making me look as if I just stepped out of…of, oh I don't know a movie that is old. See! I can't even make funny cultural references anymore." Lorelai finished with a self of self-loathing.

"You really like him don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Well, he has caused you to forget years of all the pre-date skills you pride yourself in knowing."

"Oh, God." Lorelai said despairingly.

"But being the smart woman you are, you passed those skills on to me. Who luckily was smart enough to recognize your freak-outish-ness yesterday at the store."

"Hun, don't call yourself smart and then say 'freak-outish-ness. It just doesn't work."

Rory ignored her mother's comment and continued speaking. "While you ran off to look at the chicken clock, I took the liberty of buying you this." Rory paused and went to the door to retrieve a bag she had placed just outside it.

Lorelai looked at her daughter with a "whatchagetme" look in her eyes. She snatched the bag from Rory and proceeded to empty it of its contents. She pulled out a black skirt, a baby-blue top, and a blue and while polka-dot scarf. Rory stepped up and held up the skirt. "Now, this is simple. This skirt, plain to the untrained eye, is just the perfect length to look amazing on you. It shows just enough leg to keep him looking' but not too much that he doesn't get to use the imagination for the rest."

She laid the skirt down and picked up the top. "Ok," Rory said, "This shirt says, 'This is something I just had laying around and just threw on even though it looks amazing on me. And doesn't it make my eyes look gorgeous?' And it's short sleeved so if it gets cold he can offer you his jacket. But if it gets hot…." Rory let her words drift off with an obvious meaning. Lorelai blushed. Rory moved on to the scarf. "This, well this is just cute. And I thought it would look great in your hair. Ya know sixties style." Rory ended her presentation and waited for her mother to comment.

Lorelai look at her daughter and felt so grateful at that moment that she had a daughter like her. "God bless you, Child."

Rory just laughed and said, "You better hurry. He'll be here soon."

"Wait!" Lorelai said before her daughter could leave the room. "What shoes?"

Rory looked around the room and spotted a pair of black-strappy sandals. "Here." she said and handed them to her mom.

"Thanks." Lorelai said and sat down to put on her make-up. Her nerves had been frayed all day long. She hadn't been able to get any work done at the inn because she kept thinking about the date. And Sookie wasn't helping my reminding her every chance she got. She could swear that she hadn't been this nervous before a date since she was 15. She sighed and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She had slipped into her skirt just as the doorbell rang. "Rory?" she called.

"Don't worry. I've got it!" Rory yelled back.

Rory moved to the door and swung it open to reveal a very un-Luked Luke. His jeans had been replaced by grayish-black pants and there wasn't a trace of flannel on him. He had gone for the '80's T-shirt under a suit jacket look, luckily enough for Lorelai. "Wow, you clean up well." Rory said moving to the side so Luke could come inside.

"Umm…is your mom ready?" Luke asked uncomfortably.

"Not yet, but she will be soon. Do you want something to drink?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

"So…what are you going to do tonight?"

"Well, you know the basic-dinner and a movie."

"Cool. What movie?" She asked curiously.

"Um, it's a surprise." He blushed slightly when he revealed that to Rory.

"Aw, how sweet." Rory said teasing him slightly.

"Yeah…well…" Luke drifted off. Rory wasn't sure how to go about continuing the conversation. She had never had a problem talking with Luke before but things were different now that he was dating her mom. Rory's mind quickly jumped to how her mom must be feeling. If it was weird for her it had to be really weird for Lorelai. She was basically dating her best friend. That is quite a change.

The silence between Rory and Luke was quickly shifting into the awkward stage when Lorelai's voice once again floated down the stairs. "Rory, can you come here for a sec?" Rory smiled slightly at Luke before running up the stairs. She turned into her mom's room and saw her mom standing in the middle of the room, worrying her hands and biting her lip.

"What do you think?" She asked twirling around making the hem of her skirt flutter before coming to rest just above her knees.

Rory smiled sincerely before saying "He'll love it."

Lorelai's stomach gave a little flip at the mention of Luke. How had things changed so fast? And when had Luke become flip-worthy? "Really?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Definitely." Rory walked forward and picked up her mom's purse, put it in her hands and pushed her towards the door. "Now go!"

Lorelai smiled and turned towards the door but stopped and turned back and ran to hug her daughter. "Thanks, sweetie."

"You're welcome, Mom. Now, seriously, go."

* * *

Luke looked up from his feet when he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. His breath caught in his throat as his eyes met Lorelai's. She gave him a shy smiled that he had never seen before. He smiled back and let his eyes drift slowly over her body. 'God, she's beautiful.' He thought as she slowly descended the stairs. When she had two steps to go he walked up to meet her at the landing. "Hey." she said softly.

"Hey." he said back. "You look beautiful, Lorelai."

Lorelai felt herself blush at his complement. "You don't look half bad yourself."

Luke laughed, "Well, thanks."

"You're welcome." She said regaining some of the confidence she had lost earlier in the day.

"We should probably she going."

"Yeah." Lorelai led the way to the door. "So, what are we going to see?"

"It's a surprise."

"Ooh, a surprise. Interesting." The door shut behind them, muffling the rest of their conversation as they headed to Luke's truck.

Rory, who had watched all of this from the top of the stairs, going unnoticed by either of them, mumbled, "Well, it's about time." She continued down the stairs to finish packing.

TBC

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Ha ha. You'll just have to wait for the next chapter to see their date. Thought you'd get to read about it this time didn't you? Well, no suck luck. Although, I could be persuaded to type faster with some reviews. I do enjoy them. Till next time then. Lots of Love! –Bear72724 (I kind of like having a separate name from my real one…I'm weird sorry….)


	11. The Perfect First Date

Sorry that it took me so long to update. Nobody in my family would let me on the computer until now. But anyway I hope you like this chapter.

* * *

"So you won't tell me what we're going to see. Will you tell me where we're going to eat?" Lorelai asked when they left Stars Hallow and headed out on the highway.

"You'll see." Luke said cryptically.

"Ok, what is with the mystery act tonight?" She asked playfully.

"Oh, nothing. I just, ya know, want tonight to be special."

"Me too." Lorelai smiled shyly and took Luke's hand in hers and entwined her fingers with his. She turned his hand around and set to the task of learning every line and crease. As the truck gained speed the engine began to pull and Luke knew that he would have to shift gears. But to do that he would have to take his hand away from Lorelai's. The engine got louder and Luke tore his hand from hers. Lorelai could hear him mutter "Damn stickshift." under his breath as he shifted to a higher gear.

Lorelai burst out laughing and turned to face him. "I wondered how long it would take you."

"Shut up." he replied playfully. Lorelai continued laughing until Luke joined her. "Now, I know why people like automatics."

"Yeah, they do have their benefits." She held his hand once again and asked, "You gonna tell me now?"

"Nope." he said ignoring her request to know where he was taking her.

Lorelai paused, "Ok….how 'bout now?"

"No." They slipped into a teasing conversation as they headed to an unknown destination.

* * *

"Luke…I'm kinda hungry. Are we almost there?" Lorelai asked a while later.

"Yeah. We'll probably be there in about five minutes."

"Cool. So are you going to tell me now?"

"We'll be there soon." was his only response.

Lorelai looked around as he pulled off the highway. "Where are we?" she asked when she didn't recognize her surroundings.

"Oh, well. I don't even remember the name of the town. I haven't' been here since I was in high school. I saw an ad in the paper about a week ago. I thought they had torn it down but…well they didn't." Luke said the final sentence as they turned on to a gravel road and they passed under a sign that said "Farley's Drive-In."

Lorelai saw the sing and shouted in a giddy voice, "You took me to a drive-in!"

"Yeah." he said simply.

"That's so cute."

"It's not cute. I'll have to know it's very manly."

"Umm hmm. Sure it is." Luke pulled up to the ticket booth and said in a curt voice, "Two for screen three." Luke handed the old man the money and drove through after accepting his change and hearing the man mumble a raspy reply. "Enjoy the movie."

Luke pulled into a virtually deserted parking lot. There were only 3 other cars placed at various points on the lot. Two in the back at either side, Luke could bet were occupied by teenagers and the other at the front. He pulled in to a spot in the middle and turned to Lorelai as if to say, "Come on." and opened his door. Lorelai followed soon after and went around to the truck bed which Luke was now laying blankets over. He placed to pillows against the cab. "Hoping to get lucky?" Luke ignored her comment and took her hand and helped her up into the truck. He got took the speakers off their posts and placed them in the truck bed.

Luke got in taking two grocery bags with him and sat down next to her. He started to unload to bags and Lorelai was surprised to see bags of candy, cookie trays, and chips and all sorts of other junk food. Out of the other bags he took two thermos and 2 bags of food that were obviously from his diner. Lorelai smiled at him amazed that he would do this for her. "I thought this stuff would kill you."

"Oh, it will, but I thought I'd ease into this before giving you green tea and a veggie burger."

"Smart man."

"So what'd you get me?" She said looking eagerly at the bags in his hand.

"Coffee and the usual- burger and cheese fries. Plus as an added bonus all the assorted artery-cloggers you see here."

"And for you?" Lorelai asked eyeing the other bag suspiciously.

"A salad." Luke said pulling the offending item out of the bag. "And tea." Lorelai made a face to which Luke said, "Hey, you have yours and I have mine."

"Right you are. Ok, so far you have gained major points for the food but…But how is your taste in movies?" As if on cue there was a crackling from the speakers and a picture flashed on the giant screen in front of them. Familiar music began to play out the speakers and Lorelai's face lit up with recognition. She turned to Luke who was already looking at her. "It's…how did you find this?"

"As I said I saw it in the paper and I immediately thought of you. Do you like it?"

"Of course I do!" She gave Luke a kiss on the cheek and said softly, "It's perfect."

Luke smiled and then said, "I'd hoped you like it." He leaned in and Lorelai met him in for a sweet kiss.

"Thanks." They turned their attention to the movie and their food as Charlie and his Grandpa began to sing about how much they wanted a golden ticket.

* * *

Once they finished Lorelai settled and moved closer to Luke. Luke noticed this and put his arm around her shoulders. She gave him a small smile and leaned in closer and rested her head on his shoulder. Her mind drifted from the movie to how good it felt to be next to Luke. She ran through what had happened so far that night. There hadn't been any of the uncomfortable moments that usually accompanied a first date. They didn't have to sit through an awkward dinner while asking each other where they grew up and what they did for a living. They already knew that about each other.

Luke knew her well enough to know that she didn't need to be wowed by having dinner at a fancy restaurant where you can only pronounce one thing on the menu. He knew that that she was perfectly happy with a slightly cold burger and chili fries as long as she had coffee. And he knew her favorite movie was "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." And he also knew of her slightly odd obsession with Oompa Loompas. And sure he thought she was crazy but that was ok so did almost everybody. Lorelai sighed and snuggled in closer and said softly. "Perfect."

"Huh?" Luke said.

"Oh, nothing." Lorelai smiled and turned her attention back to the movie.

The movie ended and the other cars around them drove off leaving Luke and Lorelai alone in a silence that was only broken by the distant sound of cicadas. Luke sighed and both of them sat up slowly know that their date was close to ending. Luke began to clean up when suddenly Lorelai burst out saying, "If you're going to kiss me, you better do it now."

Luke who was taken by surprise at what Lorelai said just stared at her. "Well," Lorelai got flustered. "It's just that well, I live next to Babette and well if she saw us kissing on my front porch it would be all over the town by five tomorrow morning. Not that I don't want anyone to know about us. It's just that I don't want Miss Patty hounded me asking me if you're good in bed." _Crap_, Lorelai thought to herself,_ Why did I have to go and speak? Why?_ "Not that we're going to…I mean…we probably will but…and I'm sure you are...it's just…"Lorelai rambled and Luke sat back against the cab again. Lorelai only stopped speaking when she felt Luke's hand raising her chin. He lowered his head and kissed her gently. All of the thoughts that had just occupied Lorelai's head flew out and just concentrated on the man kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began eagerly kiss him back. As the kiss deepened and became more passionate Lorelai's fingers played with Luke's hair. _Wow,_ she thought,_ he has pretty soft hair. Who'd have known?_

They pulled apart sometime later, breathless. "Wow." Lorelai said.

"Yeah." They looked at each other slightly embarrassed, but when they looked each other in the eye a totally different emotion drove them together once again. This time there was no gentle kissing. Luke ran his tongue on Lorelai's bottom lip, asking permission, and she opened her mouth eagerly. They kissed hungrily until the need for adequate breath forced them apart.

Lorelai repeated her previous response. "Wow."

"Same here."

"We should probably go." She said reluctantly.

"Yeah." Luke said monosyllabically. They both knew what would happen if they stayed in the truck bed any longer.

* * *

"So…goodnight." Lorelai said. They were once again back in Stars Hallow. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Lorelai leaned in and gave Luke a quick kiss. "Bye." she said sweetly.

"Bye."

Lorelai climbed out of the truck. On the way back they had decided that it would be better if Luke didn't walk her to the door. There would be enough questions about this anyway. At the door, Lorelai turned around and gave Luke a small wave before he drove off. Lorelai entered the house worried if Babette had seen the kiss she had given Luke in the truck. She didn't know that there was going to be something else entirely on the gossip's mind the next day.

"Hey, Rory. How's the packing going?"

TBC

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So…did you like the first date? I know they were kinda fancily dressed but oh well. I didn't think of that at the time. Once again, sorry that it took so long to update after I said that I would right fast but that happens when you live with a lot of people and you mom is trying to start up a business. Hoped you liked it and please review!


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